Katsuki and the House for Peculiar Animals
by Ultimate-Space-Child
Summary: [Pet Shop AU!] Instead of enjoying the summer breeze and cold waters of the beach, Katsuki Bakugou's mother sends him to work in this pet shop that looks like it could be demolished in a mere moment. However, when left alone to do the duties of his work, Katsuki begins to realize that these animals aren't as ordinary as he thought. Could this day get any worse?


**_OH WOW DO I SUCK! So I posted this on time with my timezone on tumblr but I'm cross posting it here as well! This fic was for the wonderful BnHA Big Bang that I participated in these past couple of months and boy does it feel good to have this finished! So many things happened that kept me from being able to write this fic but I'm so glad that I pushed through and was able to get it done so I could post it! I had this idea for a while and it really makes me happy that I was finally able to put it down in words. There was actually a lot more I did want to add but I did have to cut it down and I'm so glad I did because I genuinely didn't think I'd hit 12,000+ words again. This fic was inspired by two amazing things that you must check out: 1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" like seriously, it was this book that got me to want to write something like this and 2. Suncelira's art ( ) ! She's the person who drew all those amazing Katsuki and animal pictures based off of Horikoshi's art piece he did and it literally inspired me so much to write this and you'll notice a lot is from her work so PLEASE SUPPORT HER! I was also gifted two amazing artists who you can see their gorgeous here at these links! and /explododeku ! They were so amazing to work with AND ARE SO TALENTED AND I HOPE YOU GIVE THEM MAD FOLLOWS!_**

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Acid sprouted from the pores of Katsuki's tongue with each heavy footstep he took, leaving cracks and dents into the densely poured sidewalk. His hands groveled further into his sweatpant pockets and a snarl from his lips complimented the crimson fire that lit from his irises. Annoyance screamed all over his face and little murmurs of anger quivered out of his chapped lips, clearly showing his discontentment towards the situation he was heading towards.

It was the summer after his first year in highschool and already on his social media feed, his friends posted photos of crystalline waters and delectable sweets that had their flavors shooting out from across the screen. Smiles with protruding dimples were sketched onto each of their faces and glitter surrounded their bodies in excitement and joy for the release of pressure that assignments placed on their shoulders. They embodied the true nature of summer and Katsuki could only growl in response as his thumb flicked through their posts. Instead of being there with his peers and having the salty waters splash against his calloused skin, he headed towards his first day at work from his mother's harsh requests. Arguments between them over this topic consistently came up and his mother won each battle with a swing of her hand across his golden blonde hair, causing him to eat his words and bow to his mother's wishes despite his disgust towards the matter.

Which is why, minutes of thrashing through the ground later, Katsuki found himself the infamous pet shop his mother ordered him to go. Without lying, he came surprised as the expectation that formed in his mind shattered into disappointed fragments that scattered around his feet. The picture that painted in his mind was filled with color; the walls holding a pastel color with warm letters scribbled across the top. He imagined the windows to sparkle under the heavy rays of sunlight and that he would be greeted with sliding doors that anticipated his coming and offered comfort in it's home. More specifically, a type of American Petco but with the same intentions and passion that a family would provide without the drama and dreaming nature of a corporate.

What he got instead was a hole in the wall. Literally. Right below one of the windows was a gaping hole that looked like it came a drunken man with a lot of rage and a lot more free time. Makeshift patches of wood were nailed against it to prevent robbers from sneaking their hands in there but nothing more than that.

The rest of the shop wasn't much to brag either. It was coated in a dark grey that had a tint of blue mixed in there to maybe trick someone to think effort was placed in there. The sign that overhung to the top looked destroyed, as if military men decided it would become a war weapon and tore it open with bullet holes and disintegrated neon that only created patches of the name. Even the window were filled with dirt grey spots of water damage and lack of maintenance.

In all the places Katsuki could have been chosen to work at, this had to be the shittiest one.

Not even a debate could change his mind. Especially after looking at the shop.

Seriously, where did his mom find this place? In an ad behind the dumpster? Did she see it while walking and thought "Oh wow, what a shit place….what a perfect place for my completely shitty son to work at!" while she jotted the name down? A part of him wanted to know but then the more he thought about it, the more he determined that it was probably worse than his mind could come up with.

Letting out a sigh of anger and bitterness, he grumbled his frustrations like a child and leaned his back against the cheap door, pushing it open so he could walk inside.

If the outside wasn't already sketchy and rugged enough, the inside already had the perfect setup for a horror film. The lights were dim, some even flickering like the lights in a club, though not as intense and blinding. Shelves had creases of rust edged around outdated products that had a sour smell wafting into Katsuki's nose. Containers of toys had fissures cracked into the hard plastic and even the toys themselves looked like they were cracked on the inside. Necessities for animal care seemed to be stocked, though some brands had lesser quantities than others which only meant two things: 1. Due to the popularity of name, they were more expensive to carry, thus making the owner needing to purchase less, or, 2. People actually shopped at this so called establishment known as a pet shop.

Katsuki prayed that the validity of the latter statement was low.

"Oh, hello there Sir. How can I help you?" A soft voice whispered out, containing only the sweetest of tones. Though, he could have been screaming metallic growls and it still would have produced the same effect to Katsuki. Fibers of hair shot up from his spine, chilling his muscles in a frozen trance that made his heart take a leap. His hand grabbed onto the side of his chest where his heart laid and normal breaths were replaced with hitched ones that took a hot second to regulate once more. Anger flashed across his eyes for a mere moment as he swished his head rapidly towards the manager, ready to use his clenching fists. However, that need to use violence retracted in his mind when he fully got to look at the man in front of him. The man wasn't young at all, rather he seemed like someone who never got a chance at love before and was using this job as a way to feel like he made somewhat of an accomplishment so at least his relatives had something positive to say about him during family reunions. Given his blank pants and vest covering a button down, Katsuki guessed he had to have been the manager of this place, though it looked like the stress of maintaining it got to his balding head with small strands of gray combed over to hide the effect. At this point, he was turning from anger into almost of form of pity.

Taking a breath to sizzle out his annoyance from the surprise not-really-attack, Katsuki relaxed his shoulder muscles and the tendons constricting his firm fists that slowly unraveled. "I'm Katsuki Bakugou. My mom sent me over, I'm the new employee that is going to work here."

Even though Katsuki had a voice that literally came with the tones of not wanting to be there, the manager completely looked 180. His eyes glittered and the small smile turned into one of true delight and sunshine. "Oh yes, I remember! Mitsuki told me that you were coming into today! Oh this is so exciting! I'm so glad you're here," he said cheerfully, the whites of his teeth pearling in happiness. The bags and wrinkles of stress lightened his face, though Katsuki cringed a bit at the excessiveness of youth that suddenly appeared.

"Yea...glad to be here too…" he replied, feeling the awkwardness of the mixed emotions turmoiling. His mind twisted into different directions and he wasn't even sure how to react currently.

"Here, let me give you a tour of the place. It's pretty small so I'm certain you'll get the hang of it soon enough," the manager said as he twisted towards down the aisle, beckoning Katsuki to follow.

Begrudgingly, Katsuki shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled behind.

The tour wasn't as awful as he thought it would be, rather the manager was right that the contents of the store were compacted into each other. However, the deeper they went in, the more Katsuki could see how much this was a shithole. Not only were the shelves and racks old as extinct dinosaurs but mixed growls and screeches became more distinct the further they went in. The discovery soon shone that, unlike other pet shops, there were actual animals residing in the shop, though their living spaces were probably the most luxurious part of this whole place. Each animal had their own distinct crib that, from afar, fit their styles and needs. There were little tags by their beds that had curved letters to spell out current names given to them. Some of them were sleeping, others found enjoyment simply licking their paws or playing with that toy next to him. Katsuki found it a bit bizarre that the manager noted that there were a few animals that were too big to fit inside so they were resting outside but then he moved onto the next part of the tour and it didn't cross his mind after that.

Soon they covered the basic areas such as the bath room, the back stock, and even the mechanics of using a cash register. A lot of things that were explained happened to be common sense; if you owned an animal, you should have known these things and if you didn't, then maybe your animal should be taken away from you.

Placing his hands on his hips, the owner gave a sigh before turning towards the new employee. "Alright, I think that covers everything. Do you have any questions before we get started?" He asked with a smile, his grandpa aura waving off.

"Nah, I'm good," Katsuki replied with a shake of his head, still containing that look of death.

"Perfect! Oh before I forget-" The manager began to say before having a deafening vibration interrupt his thought process. Giving a smile of discomfort, he flipped open his phone and began to speak in greetings as he stepped away from his new employee. Katsuki was never one to believe in eavesdropping; he believed it to be a pussy kind of thing to do by people who had to butt into personal business without having an involvement (ie. what this particular shit stain would do to him every single day). However, at the word "emergency", his ear instinctively perked up to tunnel audio much clearer. No matter how much willpower he pumped in, curiosity got the better of him as phrases and fragments twirled into his ear with the conversation bursting through. Taking a step forward, he managed to hear a bit more until the manager flipped the phone closed and sauntered back to Katsuki, making him reposition himself back to the form he was in earlier.

"I apologize for that heavily! Actually…." his beady eyes began to speak before flickering down in dishonor and a gulp could be heard from his hesitant throat. "I need to go for a while. My mother thought that a clump of hair on the ground was an insect and -oh dear bless her heart- she grabbed a cane began to whack at it and well….not only did she throw out her back but let's say that the clump liked to fling off by the wind and well….she assumed it was one of those jumping bugs so some furniture got demolished on the way so I need to go to make sure she's holding up ok."

If this day didn't already start off shitty, it decided to multiply into new infinities that knew no bounds.

"Again, I'm so sorry about this sudden development Katsuki. I don't mean to leave you on your first day but I really need to go. Here," the manager stopped his phrasing by reaching behind him and tearing a man handled paper off the counter. "This is the list of things that have to be done today. There's a lot so just do whatever you can, don't feel pressure to do this all at once. I will be back to help you with them." Presenting one more bow to finalize his words, he quickly ran to unchain his coat from the hanger and rushed through the door, leaving a small little chime left from his disappearance.

And also leaving Katsuki alone with a bunch of animals and crumpled list. But he didn't count. Not really. Ok, maybe a little bit.

Standing in the same position from earlier, Katsuki looked soberly on in the exiting direction of his new manager. Questions of his existence and if there was a will to live stained in his mind and made him wish the time based death would speed up to take his life away in this very moment, at this very second.

Seeing that he was going to have to be alive for a while longer, he sighed out and looked at the list he was given, studying the content of it. Listed were the names of the animals within the shop that he already forgot and tasks that were needed for each animal. Just from a quick glance, some things seemed more normal than others but they appeared to be basic things that Katsuki could do on his own.

With the list crumpling in his hands, Katsuki headed towards the playpen that had a German Shepard resting on top of a black fluffy carpet with the word "Tenya" embroidered across it in elegant cursive that had pristine curves attached to each word. His fur was mostly black with a heavy tint of blue stringed into his short hair and it seemed as if he had arrows for eyebrows that furrowed in with a look of seriousness.

Gulping down his apprehensiveness, Katsuki stepped closer to the dog, hoping to not bother his peaceful state of mind. It was known through the grapevine that German Shepards were known to use their teeth in circumstances where they have a disdain for the creature before them and today was not a day where Katsuki wanted to start off with giant canine teeth latching onto his flesh. Slowly uncurling the list from his hand, he looked at the messy scribbles to decipher the task for this dog right here. His eyes then landed on the name "Tenya" and they scanned over to see what was commanded for this deadly creature.

"Tenya - Take him on a walk"

Curling his mouth downwards at the complete lack of instruction, Katsuki gave out a grumble of annoyance and set out to do the task at hand. Hanging from a hook off to the side was Tenya's big, burly leash that had a kaleidoscope of blues shaped in an intense geometric pattern. Its fabric was thick and bulky, as if to withstand the heavy weight Tenya could pull from his neck. Grabbing it within his hands, it even had a high amount of density within it, causing even Katsuki's muscled hand to waver a bit.

"Alright...steady….steady….." Katsuki whispered to himself as he slowly bent his knees, trying to place the clip onto Tenya's tag ring. His hand slowly moved towards the resting beast, trying to create no sound with his movements.

Suddenly, Tenya's ears perked up and his body went completely rigid as he lifted up his head. The shepard immediately opened his eyes and out came a dark red color, as if the blood from his victims circulated within his irises and he was looking at Katsuki to refresh his bank. No sounds emerged from his mouth, only tension vibrating through the air as he didn't leave his matching eye contact. It was an ominous feeling, one that even made the bad boy swallow and not have a next move planned.

After a few elongated seconds, however, the apprehensive expression smeared on Katsuki's face was soon replaced with determination and spruced up anger, ready to engage a battle with this canine. "Alright, you fucker, I don't know you and you don't know me but I'm supposed to take you on a walk so let's go." Katsuki growled at him, tugging the leash between his two hands like it was a battle weapon to capture the dog that was ready to attack.

Except, that didn't happen.

Instead, Tenya slowly curled out his legs and raised himself up high to show his true size. He nodded his head forward and trotted towards Katsuki, his tail wagging with precision and an even rhythm. Once he reached Katsuki's feet, he squated down into a seated position and looked up at him with enlarged eyes, begging and waiting for his next move.

Once again, Katsuki was left speechless, gaping his mouth towards this obedient dog and peculiar actions. Even the skin below his eye twitched and his upper lip curled into a weird snarl that basically gave a look of strange acceptance. "Uhh...ok?" Katsuki slipped out, his head even tilting away as the dog got closer to him, nudging at the hook with his moisturized nostril. Making himself clear, Katsuki oddly bent down and placed the clasp onto his name tag to capture him into the care of the leash. Soon, he found himself in control of Tenya and being able to command him under the clutches of his hands. Confidence bubbled in back into Katsuki and he let out a huff that got Tenya to be on all fours again, ready to move. "Let's go on a fucking walk. C'mon," he rasped out in a serious tone as he tugged on Tenya's leash. Without even a peep, the dog followed right behind him, treading on his heels.

The bell gave a sweet chime as they exited out into the streets, smelling the crisp, fresh air that the pet shop repelled away. Katsuki turned the lock on and the duo set out for a brisk walk that had their feet moving in an even tempo. Everything about their movements flowed into each other, causing everything to be calm and serene as they walked through the town.

Turning on corners and passing through blocks of sidewalk with each happened to relieve Katsuki's fear of this being an intense walk and a smirk painted itself on his face with arrogance filling up in his cheeks. "This isn't fucking hard at all. That old geezer clearly is weak if he can't handle this," Katsuki spoke out loud, attempting to speak more to Tenya but looking like a mad man speaking to himself from outsider eyes. Then an idea sparked in his eyes and small flames of fire flickered in his eyes as he looked at Tenya with a challenging glare. "Hey, fucker," he growled out, making his canine companion look at him with an attentive gaze, "how about we run? You know speed things up and make it a bit more interesting?" He finished his question, his degrading smile turning more upwards with each pretentious thought that crossed his mind.

Tenya gave an affirmative nod and Katsuki began to pick up the pace to get his legs warm for the run they were going to embark on. With each step Katsuki took, their speed began to pick up and up until it was a complete run, making his lungs beat in heaviness with each double breath he had to take. Blood ran even more through his veins and the wind tunneling against his hair made his adrenaline pump even harder with the leash tucked in his hand hitting against the side of his leg. Katsuki thrived for this physical activity so he got to kill two birds with one stone in the same moment.

Yet, the syringe of energy Katsuki got made all sounds completely unreachable to his ears. A little popping sound emerged from Tenya and small engines suddenly appeared on the lower areas of his legs. Initial sputtering ruminated within the engines until spurts of smoke puffed out in the air. Within a matter of seconds, their speed when from a normal man's run to a jet engine that skyrocketed throughout the sidewalk.

"WHAT….THE….FUCK….ARE…..DOING!?" Katsuki yelled out into the wind, his words travelling against the breeze that they were creating from this run. They moved quick enough that his feet floated from the ground and the only way he was still in Tenya's pace was from the tight hold he had on the leash. However, that still didn't stop the wind from heavily slapping his face and having his lips wiggle from the air pumped in. Eyes had to be shut to keep them within Katsuki's skull but he could only imagine the stares they had to be getting right now. That is, if people even saw them to begin with.

Katsuki wasn't sure how long Tenya made the route or where exactly he took them in the city but soon the heavy wind wasn't beating against him anymore and his feet found refuge once more on the solid ground of cement. Going from being in the air into a run into a sprint into a more brisk walk, soon their steps lessened to a stop and Katsuki opened his eyes to see Tenya sitting right in front of the pet shop entrance. Katsuki had to grip onto the wall next to him to even out his heavy breaths while Tenya just sat there as if he didn't move at all. He grew annoyed quickly at the canine and brought him back to his pen, trying to not show Tenya how tired he had become. Hanging up his leash, Katsuki immediately backed away to find a spot where he could cool his breaths before embarking on the next chore.

Despite having moments to relax, exhaustion continued to electrify through his muscles and slowed down any movements he wanted to perform. Curses towards the eager German Shepard still continued to linger out from his mouth as a check marked itself right next to itself and his eyes grazed to the next bullet point.

"Ochako - Pick up her toys"

Seriously? That's an actual task? In comparison to the heavy hell Tenya made him trudge through, this seemed like a walk in the park. Really, how much toys could a cat have that she can't even keep them straight?

Scoffing with his confidence extracting out, Katsuki sauntered off to where the cats of the shop resided in and watched their resting faces….well, one actually was resting, the other was trying to but kept getting distracted with the ball of yarn in front. The pads on her white paws kept swiping at it and making it go a small distance before rumblings came out and she tackled it in the same manner before. It was if she wanted it gone but also couldn't fight off the addiction of the multicolored yarn.

Judging by her behavior, Katsuki didn't even need to read the tag fumbling around her neck to know that this particular black and white cat (which the colors formulated a weird pattern on her body) was Ochako and he had to pick up her toys. Oh what joy befell on him.

Before Ochako could take another jab at the wound ball, Katsuki stole away it from her and juggled it in a singular hand while his eyes searched the ground for other toys. He managed to find a woven basket near to her bed but nothing seemed to be even be close to that. Rising up objects and peering under them, nothing that even sembled a type of cat toy came into view. With golden eyebrows drawn upwards, he moved throughout the store and checked for any strays that lingered around. Though, with each step he took, it only brought forth a labyrinth of confusion on where any of them could be.

That is, until he walked back to Ochako's bed and happened to notice the toys. Though, unlike other normal places, this wasn't the ground or even on a shelf.

No.

They were fucking _floating_ in the air.

Katsuki had to rub his eyes continuously, trying to scrub hallucinations out. Yet, no matter how many times he tore open his ducts enough see accuracy, reality kept slapping him back and disbelief wouldn't tear away from him. There, a few feet close to the ceiling were very apparent cat toys that just drifted through the air, not having a care in the world and as if this wasn't a new type of phenomena.

Except it fucking was.

"Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Katsuki groaned out, shooting an expression that told Ochako in blunt words _You can't be serious, you didn't do this did you oh god I will burn you alive_. However, instead of hoping that this might have all been a mistake and a misguided joke, it almost looked as if Ochako was giggling into the crook of her arms, as if she was enjoying this suffering on his end. "You did this, didn't you?" Katsuki growled towards her with taking a few steps forward, gnashing his teeth together create a grinding noise. Yet, the kitty shared a new emotion and suddenly became aware of her paw. Avoiding his fire stained eyes, she caressed her foot with small licks, having an extravagant deep stare that bore into the fibers of her hair.

Katsuki ended up standing in that position for a while before loudly groaning into the wind. Tilting his head backwards, he studied the suspended toys, trying to gauge not only how high they were but also if there was an extra method to this madness. Determining that he needed height to reach them and no, they're fucking floating by something that damn cat was doing, he went towards the back and pulled out a miniature ladder. He waddled towards the scene of the crime with the ladder stuck in front of his legs and heavily set it down to the beginnings of the toy trail. Stomping on the flimsy steps and hoping that he wouldn't collapse through the structured stepping stool, his hand grabbed onto a part for those good safety measures and the other one fished through the air for the toys. Only, a certain feline decided to whisk them away everytime he took a snag at it. Even looking over at her proved his point as she would look on with a demonic joy on her face before meeting her brown eyes and suddenly becoming attached to white fur again.

With one more attempt going futile again, Katsuki roared out with each step he took downwards, ready to give a feline some good pounding. "You little FUCKER!" He screamed out to her, making her skin goosebump upwards. Without using any type of gentle force, he latched onto her sides and pulled her upwards so their eyes could be at the same level, though their eyes completely regarded each other in different perspectives: Ochako shadowing in fear, Katsuki opening in anger. "Now listen you little piece of shit," he grumbled out to her, seething out his spice filled breath. "I don't know who the fuck you are or how the fuck you are doing this but knock it off. I'm trying to get some shit done and I don't have time to play your fucking games. So, bring the toys down or else." Katsuki threatened -wait did he really just threaten a cat-, boring into her brown eyes to drill his point.

It took a few steady moments, silence whirling around them, before Ochako gave a small, timid nod. Creasing her front legs across Katsuki's hands, the pads of her paws met together and a small glowing light emitted from them, casting them in a pink aura. Being entranced by her magical hands, Katsuki's mind moved to focus on her mystical power that he didn't notice the toys taking one last jump before dropping back down. However, they didn't land around Katsuki, oh no, rather, they landed on top of him, bumping on his head, shoulders, back, even one of the arms that was holding Ochako up. Giving yelps of pain, Katsuki winced at the flooding pain and allowed tiny curses to slip out to this current development. When his eyes finally managed to reset back to an open position, he could snarl at the devious smile Ochako had. In her own language, she was basically laughing at him and his shit situation.

How low does someone have to be to have a cat laugh at them? He would have to find the answer to this someday.

Not even finding the will to fight, slinging his head down, he walked over back to her bed and dropped her to where she had to crunch her legs to have a steady landing. Without even trying to know what her expression, he went back towards the fallen toys and picked them, trying to steady them within the crevices of his arms. His tongue began to click in annoyance with each one he added to the pile, wondering if he should just chuck these back at her and show her what's really funny.

But, instead of doing that, he just allowed his frustration to fester in his core and just mechanically cleaned up after the cat. Soon, all the toys were found in the basket and Ochako found a new distraction to take her attention away for a few moments. It was almost as if she didn't just cause a bunch of cat toys to be suspended in the air and that she just had been laying there, licking her paws and scratching the post next to her.

Still containing a tinge of annoyance on the tip of his tongue, Katsuki almost ripped the paper with his pen as he angrily created a checkmark next to Ochako's name to point out that he completed the tasks at least in this current time. He felt it was positive she was going to find a way to make something else float but in the meantime, she was calmed with her scratch post. After making his mark, Katsuki looked down below Ochako's tasks and read what was next.

"Izuku - Make sure he is fed outside (food is outside this time, remember that!)"

Feeling somewhat grateful that even the manager had to write a side note, he sent himself on a journey to the outside.

Opening the door, Katsuki felt like he walked through a portal due to the vast change in scenery. Instead of seeing massive buildings surrounding the exterior, it was covered with a giant green patch of grass with stables lining the side of the makeshift fences. The only way he could describe this scene was that it exactly mirrored a farm scene from a movie, only it was more lavish and gorgeous than the typical trope.

This guy really cared about his animals.

Seeing a little movement from the corner of his eyes, Katsuki turned his head to those motions and saw a sheep and a….reindeer (?) right next to each other. A little blush appeared on the sheep's face as his green eyes looked downwards and away from the incredibly detailed and shadowed smile from the reindeer. It was definitely an interesting sight and it even was picture worthy if Katsuki even cared enough to pull out his phone. Which, he didn't.

Without trying to be caught up in the odd green color of the sheep's fur and the blinding golden from the reindeer, Katsuki sauntered off to one of the stables and looked around, trying to find the feed for Izuku. The fact that he couldn't find it made him irritated until a little nudge poked from behind. There stood the sheep, lifting his head towards his right, making his collar that had the inscription of "Izuku" jingle from his movements. Peering over to where Izuku was pointing at, Katsuki could see semi shut doors that looked that had contents of food popping out. He walked over to that side of the stable and opened the doors to reveal stacks upon stacks of food that all had "Izuku" labeled across them. Katsuki wondered where was the other's food but then realized that wasn't his job and proceeded to only grab one package of feed for the sheep.

Izuku then leaded Katsuki to where to place his food, which he was eternally grateful that this sheep was making his life 20 times easier (though, he could feel the dark eyes of the reindeer behind him and it kind of scared him). They reached the food platform and Katsuki poured out the food until Izuku made the symbol to stop. Curling the bag shut, Katsuki watched Izuku eat on until flickers of red glimmered in his eyes. Red eyes looked down to matching colors and he immediately noticed bright red shoes staring right back at him.

Why….why the hell was this sheep of all animals wearing these red shoes that made him almost go blind? Not only were they just odd but they looked tacky and gross and clearly unfashionable. They didn't go well with his green fluff of hair. At this point, he just looked like a permanent Christmas ornament.

Deciding that he needed to leave before he saw some more things that he really didn't need to see, Katsuki grabbed onto the curled bag, looked strangely at the glistening teeth of the reindeer, put back the bag, and then left the two to their own convictions.

Still disturbed from the exterior and Izuku's shoes, Katsuki entered back into the disgraced interior and looked at the list as he scratched off the outside task. Switching to the next one, Katsuki had to relook at it a couple times since it completely caught him off guard.

"Mashirao - Let him out for a bit"

Let….one of these….animals loose? Was the manager insane? Did he completely jump off the cliff of sanity? Just even the mere thought of letting one of them loose and letting them do their own thing made him completely baffled and shocked. If it were up to him, he would put heavy duty fencing around all these animals and made sure that he couldn't even move an inch away from their beds. They already showed how demonic they are and there shouldn't be placed even the smallest drop of trust into their being.

But it wasn't up to him and the sudden care he had drifted off when he realized that the owner would have to deal with it anyways when he returned so there was no point in giving a shit about letting them loose.

Assuming he was inside a cage, Katsuki skimmed through them until his eyes landed on Mashirao's. Looking up from the name, Katsuki took a step back in surprise. Mashirao was actually a monkey, which wasn't a common thing to see in a pet shop or shelter or anything. Yea, there was Izuku and that fucking weird reindeer but like….this is an exotic mammal. How the hell did the pet shop owner get his hands on this guy? Did he perform blood sacrifices to accomplish this?

Realizing that he would never understand the logic behind this, Katsuki muttered a "Fuck it," and opened the cage for Mashirao to come out. Though, Katsuki had to move back since that monkey didn't hesitate for one second to get out from his cage. Curling his tail around bars and certain objects, he reached to the top of the store, cradling himself against the beams of light that hung overhead. This little guy was a natural at he was doing and Katsuki wouldn't lie, it was pretty fucking cool to watch.

Mashirao jumped from location to location, really stretching his limps as he leaped through the air. Even some of the others looked up at him and envied the freedom he was allowed while they were stuck in their beds. However, soon enough, he found the top of a cabinet behind the cashier and opened the doors to get 2 bananas from inside of it, like this was second nature to him.

Except, maybe not since he kept spilling the pieces of eaten banana onto the floor, making a mess from his snack.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Katsuki called out, stomping towards the monkey, his fists having veins creasing outwards. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? People have to clean this shit up, you know!? What the hell is the matter with you!?" He screamed towards the stationary monkey. Hair bristles stuck out from his neck and wrinkles wrapped around his downward eyebrows that looked menangincly at the monkey.

Katsuki thought it was over for the monkey until a piece of banana was flung towards his face. At first, he didn't have any thoughts on it. It came out from left field and left him speechless. Then reality syringed in and blood boiled within his core. "What the fuck!?" He screeched out before being met with another piece of banana thrown to his cheek. Raging, he tore through the counter and reached for the monkey before he escaped and found refuge onto the ceiling lights. "Hey, get fucking down here and face me coward!" Which, that threat was met once more with banana hitting his skin. Pissed beyond belief, Katsuki ripped through the aisles, even climbing on top of shelves to try to reach the monkey. But, Mashirao was too quick and leap through the store in a heartbeat while still throwing banana pieces at Katsuki's fiery form.

The final showdown then befell between them with Mashirao perched on another cabinet while Katsuki climbed onto boxes. With each grab onto the next ledge, Katsuki had to shift his body away to miss the oncoming bombs of food thrown at him. Why such evil creatures existed was beyond Katsuki.

Reaching the last step towards the monkey, Katsuki placed his foot and added all his weight on that foot before he felt his balance teetering off. Despite grabbing onto everything imaginable, there was a wet slide before he fell down, hitting his back against the cold tile floor. Pain rippled in his spine and heavy breaths pushed from his lungs to calm the nerve spasms. He propped himself onto his elbows and red irises widened at seeing a banana peel by the crook of his foot.

The great, glorious, magnificent Katsuki was taken down….by a banana peel.

He was out. Fuck this shit, he was out. The owner could deal with this fucker. Katsuki stood up slowly, making Mashirao leap into a crevice that disappeared into a void that Katsuki could less of a shit about.

Rubbing the last remaining bits of banana off from his face, a look of irritation washed over him as he opened up the list once more and heavily scratched off Mashirao's name to the point where the fragile paper ripped under the deafening pressure. His red eyes then shifted towards the task right below the zigzags made earlier.

"Shouto - Give him a bath"

A wave of relief smothered over him and a sigh breathed out from his lips. Finally, a something that has to be more normal in nature. He's given his past pets good deep cleans before so this had to be mindless for sure. No doubt about it.

Passing by Ochako's bed and giving her the absolute stink eye of death, Katsuki finally came across a second cat bed, though this one was more fluffed with what looked like cashmere coating. The overall color of brown had swirls of gold mixed in and it looked like a bed befit for a king. Heck, the bed might have looked better than Katsuki's bed at home and a tinge of annoyance bubbled within him. Lord only knows what kind of treatment this cat gets on a daily basis and Katsuki actually found himself slightly jealous over...an animal. To think that this creature had a better lifestyle than him made him want to spam his phone with photos and circle them around his mother to call out her supposed abusive nature (because it's very clear that subjecting him to work in a shithole like this while the rest of his classmates get to have fun excursions in the sun has to be a form of abuse)(It just has to be)(There's no other way of explaining it)(Hell he's sure that he could call Child Protective Services on her and they would take her away just even slightly hearing this nonsense he's in).

This cat even looked super cool too with a giant splotch of red patching over his eye and a heavy distinct line in the middle to create a half and half distinction of black and white. It was weird and different yet it had an element of awesomeness that caused low grumblings from Katsuki.

Groaning away, Katsuki put his hands out tested the waters with this one, especially since some cats knew how to be complete and utter dicks to him to the point where they felt the need to scratch. Fortunately, the second Shouto felt a presence close to him, he slowly opened his eyes and peered onto the cells of his skin before releasing his tongue and petting it with small licks. It left a ticklish sensation behind and Katsuki had to hold in breath to not even peep out a giggle. Enhancing a bit more of courage in him, he cupped his hands underneath the armpits of Shouto and picked him to reposition into a cradle within in the crevices of his arms. Plopping down, the exotic cat smushed himself further into Katsuki, purring softly into a tranquil sleep that contained little z's snoring out from his nose. In a form of jealousy and irritation, Katsuki clicked his tongue harshly and moved towards the back.

In the backroom, as shown earlier, a small little bin rested on top of the counter with hoses attached to the back wall that was seeping into it. Soaps of all kinds scattered around the makeshift bathtub, though each one was labeled with taped pieces of paper over the logos. Names of the animals within the shop were represented with a bottle, indicating the different chemicals needed to be able to wash them properly. Katsuki's eyes scanned each one until he rested on the one labeled "Shouto". Like the cat with the name, this bottle had distinct cut colors of red, white, and black shaping the figures from it. Katsuki couldn't make out the words on it since it had undergone multiple weeks of wear and tear but judging from how it presented itself, the only inference he could make was that it was the highest brand available in the store. Getting the best only for the best, right?

Scooping Shouto to be stuck in between one arm that bent on his hip, he used his free hand to prepare the bath. Steaming water burst from the faucet that lifted miniature clouds into the air that created a fog effect in the humid space. Heat began to suffocate the living beings as the bin continued to fill up with each drop of the scaling water. Soon, it reached the dent line in the bath and Katsuki paused the flow to pour the mixture in the water. Before he could even swirl the fluid around, suds began to bubble up in front of him, creating mountains of soap that foamed at the top. Though the bubbles weren't just any ordinary kind that most people succumbed to. These felt like silk with an array of pinks swirling around it's luscious texture. Even the scent of exotic flowers burst through and flooded Katsuki's nose fibers with each tickle it made. It was a bath fit for the king of animals, or in this case, a cat within the confounds of a pet shop.

"OK...in ya go…." Katsuki mumbled out under his breath as he pulled Shouto out from his hooked arm to place him within the bathtub.

Though, the process in which Katsuki thought was supposed to happen turned out to be vastly different than what actually happened.

Immediately, Shouto stretched out his limbs to push on the trim of the bath, fear forming in modes of perspiration that crystallized down the side of his snout. Small little whines whimpered from his gritted teeth in each attempt to resist falling into the death trap of water.

Twitches formed at the top of Katsuki's lip before he reacted quickly and placed his hands on the back of the cat, pushing on it with full force. Shouto's spine began to bend at his will but he managed to have his fighting stance still residing within him. His whimpers turned into hisses that barred teeth, as if he was telling Katsuki, "Be warned, I'll bite." Which, in turn, despite the warnings, Katsuki scoffed at any resistance from the cat and continued his heinous acts on the devastated creature. Not even the nips and slashes Shouto raised towards him stopped the battering of his limbs.

It even reached the point where small fragments of his fur dipped into the scalding water and tension built up even more trying to resist the heavy effect of being dunked into the bath that he didn't want to partake in. But, much to his demise, Katsuki had more determination built in his core that projected out into each push he made and all Shouto could hope was that he could stand his ground a bit more until the pseudo caretaker decided this was too much for him and abandon the cat back on his plush bed.

Although, that proved to be too late when his black paw slipped from the rim and punctured the water, which came with a small yelp from Shouto and a demeaning grin from Katsuki.

Drastic times calls for drastic measures, correct?

With a magical aura beaming from Shouto's multicolored body, the steam from the water shaped into little dyads of ice before it began to be overshadowed by blocks forming within the compounds. In a matter of fleeting seconds, icebergs erupted upwards, jagged pieces piercing through the air and upwards into the sky. Shivers of snowflakes rippled through the thermometer and depleted the degrees from its listing. Forming a small plateau in the beams of solidified water, Shouto pawed through and rested gingerly with his feet gripped closely together. A small little sigh pursued out from finer lips with relaxation shot upwards in Shouto's muscles. The anxiety that syringed into him earlier soon was washed away in upmost peacefulness, looking as if the past few minutes didn't occur at all.

But, while Shouto embodied the chill nature of the ice capsized around him, boiling liquid ripped through Katsuki and a deep fire purpled his skin in immense anger from the insane antics from this hellish creature.

Hands slapped against his face before a groan roared out that tilted his head backwards in a special type of annoyance he could only feel in this moment. His fingers began to dip down his face, pulling on flaps of skin that lined key features and almost rendering him in a zombie state before releasing in agony and puffed cheeks. Silence remained on his face for a few seconds before animation reappeared once more and gritted teeth grinded against each other. "You mother fucker," he said with frustration deepening in his throat. His hands immediately tried to grab Shouto but he moved out of the way quick enough that Katsuki's hand happened to land on a piece of ice that just had seen a burning fire. Burns scorched on his skin and he flinched away in utter pain. Katsuki could already see bubbles forming at the baseline bruise. His eyes tracked down Shouto that had steam coming from his paws as the ice melted underneath him. "You cocky asshole," Katsuki muttered towards the cat that looked like an innocent being under his heavy stare. Seeing that most of the ice was gone, Katsuki's determination told him that he had to try again.

Once more, he reached for Shouto to be dunked in. He quickened his speed to get him this time but it was as if Shouto had a sixth sense. The cat leaped away from the bath and didn't give enough warning to Katsuki before he stuck his entire hand into the water. One thing that didn't cross his mind was on how hot the liquid be and he could feel his hands burning from the unbearable temperatures. "Shit, shit, shit!" He screamed out, yanking his hands out before they were dissolved under the immense heat. Without wasting time, he quickly went to the sink and ran cool water over his even more damaged hands, creating a cooling effect against the burns. When it grew to be more bearable, Katsuki shut the water off and stood over the sink for a hot second before giving Shouto a death glare. Seeing his nonchalant attitude pissed Katsuki off even more and he immediately grabbed Shouto to bring him outside the room.

Throwing Shouto back onto his luxurious bed, Katsuki gave a check to his name, wincing a bit at the rawness of his burnt fingers. He made a mental note to deal with him later when his eyes landed on the next scribble on the list.

"Fumikage - Turn on Three Days Grace and read 'The Raven'"

...what?

Katsuki took an extra couple moments to look at that list. Who the hell was Three Days Grace? And why "The Raven"? Twitching his eye, he stared off into space for a second before moving Towards the cage where the black crow rested his feet on the little log within the bars. Upon further inspection, Katsuki could see that he look like he had death within his eyes, red pupils containing almost a look of blood from enemies swirling around at the stare he was giving. It looked menacing, ominous, in a dark poetic manner that sent shivers down the human's spine.

If Tokoyami was a human, there would be no doubt in Katsuki's mind that he would be one of those emo kids that spent all their days smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee blacker than their souls, and whining about how the universe was out to get them.

Lucky for Katsuki, there was an old fashioned CD player set up right behind the cage that had CD cases topping it. Grabbing the stack in his hands, Katsuki could feel a little bit of his soul disintegrating as he went through the names of these artists. Besides Three Days Grace, there were other bands such as Linkin Park, Skillet, Breaking Benjamin aka bands that Katsuki didn't recognize because they weren't in the style of Lil Peep.

Choosing the case with paper figures that all had checks on them except one, he removed the disc from the protective casing and placed it into the pressed up top of the radio. He then turned it on and he could feel his soul already trying to find itself out of it's confined shell.

The CD didn't even start off that good. The beginning sounded like the guitarist either learned how to play the instrument that morning or that he was acting like a rebel and rubbing the strings against an ancient chalkboard. Then, immediately, the drummer saved the day until the singer came on and immediately started singing about something that made his voice turn into this brooding caricature of a staple headed emo kid.

Yet, the bird - this fucking bird - was enjoying the living shit out of it. His black feathers ruffled with each rift and little coos escaped his break while he brought his head upwards to have the music flow into his body. He looked more alive in this moment than he probably ever had in his entire bird existence and that only made Katsuki more confused.

Reeling away from this odd reaction, Katsuki decided to pull up "The Raven" on his phone to at least get this over with (though he noticed immediately that his phone automatically clicked onto the wifi, which wasn't there before and holy hell, he would break this wall in front of him if his mother was the one to do this because this crossed more lines than he would ever admit) and he cringed at even the name of the author. _Edgar Allen Poe_ , jesus, did his mother hate him? That immediately set up the stage for him to be another fucker that sat in darkness all day and cried about the "horrors" of the world. Even skimming this poem caused ridiculous laughter to build up in his throat and Katsuki tried to suppress it in front of Tokoyami. Lord knows what damage this bird could do if triggered enough.

Clearing his throat, Katsuki set his eyes on the first line and attempted to muster up all the seriousness he had. Key word: attempted.

" _Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,_

 _Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—_

 _While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,_

 _As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door._

"' _Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—_

 _Only this and nothing more."_

Stealing a quick glance at Tokoyami, words immediately were sucked away from his mouth from just how into this he was. Tokoyami turned into this little ball of black that crumpled into himself while his red eyes were quietly shut. Little coos purred out and it was a state of bliss that only a bird who enjoyed darkness could be pleased with. However, that pure state soon latched onto the fact Katsuki stopped speaking the poem and Tokoyami released his ball to sqwuak and flutter around the cage, causing a racket that made Katsuki have to plug his ears from the intense noise.

Clearly, Katsuki triggered him enough.

"Alright, Alright! I'll continue reading on! Just shut the fuck up already!" Katsuki screamed over the yells from the bird, trying to get him to listen to him. That made the screeches lessen a bit but they still threatened to break through the high pitch range. "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor!" Katsuki continued to read on, keeping his voice in the screaming range to almost plead in his very obnoxious way to have the bird be silenced. Soon, once Tokoyami heard the familiarity of the poem, everything turned 180 and he fell back onto the position he was earlier before Katsuki stopped reading. Even the little purrs returned back, as if nothing happened at all.

Reading with conviction and matching the tempo of the insufferable band playing, Katsuki read through the rest of the poem, trying to keep the tone to what the poet wanted. His mind went onto autopilot, traveling to other places while his mouth continued on. Images of beaches, summer activities, even mountain climbing adventures shifted through his mind and only desire to be with his friends ran through the thread of motivation to be out of this place as soon as possible. Everyone else was having the time of their lives and here he was, reading an emo poem to an emo bird.

What a great way to start off his summer.

Soon enough, Katsuki spoke out the last line and he looked up to see Tokoyami still in the same position, not even moving an inch. It appears as if he had fallen asleep in the middle of the reading, which, if there wasn't money involved, Katsuki would have strangled him into the ends of the universe. However, there would be a paycheck coming in and all Katsuki could do was just sigh away and turn off the music before it decided to loop itself around. His mind was still trying to suppress the intro of the CD, he didn't need countless reminders on it and have it be a stained memory.

Quitely backing away from the dark cage, Katsuki checked off Tokoyami's task and looked onto the next one that needed to be done. However, before he could react, he heard a deafening croak behind him. Freezing in his muscles, he put the paper down and turned around to see the source of that sudden sound.

There, in the middle of the floor, was a vibrant frog with big, black (black?) eyes that was staring at him expectedly. The outer layer of skin was this neon green with yellow stripes that curved down the back even into the blackened "socks" of the frog's feet. It's tongue hung loose from it's widened mouth and the ribbits came with the syllables of "Kero". The frog looked cute and adorable but there was something ominous about the way it stared at Katsuki, like it could read his every move and thought before it became true.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Katsuki more muttered to himself while he took strides towards the creature. Exhausted from the other chores, he didn't think twice about approaching frog and his limbs moved on their own with the expectation that the frog was just going to stay there all nice and easy.

Yet, that fantasy was tarnished in mere seconds when the frog jumped away from him in a far, _far_ distance. Katsuki's tired eyes focused on the remnants of slime before cursing out in annoyance. Guessing the direction of where it moved, Katsuki stormed through the aisle and caught glimpse of the frog chilling on the shelf, looking at him with that look that completely says "Come at me, bro."

That taunt immediately made Katsuki leap, though, he missed it by a mere few inches and the frog jumped away, making Katsuki crash into all the contents of the shelves. A normal person would have pulsated and cried from the bruises inflicted from cascading objects but Katsuki was the opposite of normal and this situation was the opposite of normal so, without even saying an ow, he bolted up and continued to chase after the rogue animal.

Who turned out to be much smarter than he could have thought. Any time he got close, the frog gave a metaphorical middle finger and jumped away from his reach. And with each miss Katsuki endured, the more he got annoyed and the more he hallucinated that the frog was mocking and laughing at him. Chances kept watering down his fingers and the only words that collapsed from his tongue were cuss words from the highest caliber.

Katsuki almost gave up until he saw the moment that would change the course of the argument.

Peering out from the shelf, he could see that the frog was visiting the gravity inducing cat, ribbiting hearts. Ochako looked onto the other and gave it small licks. From the looks of it, this must have occurred more times than once in order for a friendship to have blossomed.

Which was the perfect opportunity for the frog's capture.

Taking off his shoes, Katsuki tiptoed towards the fish section and found a small webbed net that would make sure that frog couldn't jump higher than a foot without being caught in the hard plastic. He took it back to his latest post and continued to look at them, hoping for that moment to appear. It seemed as if they were immersed into each other, Ochako continuously purring and tapping the frog's head. If Katsuki was anyone else, he would have found this unlikely friendship to be adorable but it was Katsuki and he found it absolutely sickening.

Slincking forward towards the duo, he kept his figure hidden behind the different signs and bags or boxes that protruded out from the aisle. When he got to the closest distance, he reached for a toy that was stranded out of place and chucked it towards Ochako. It landed in her area but away from her actual body and it took them both for surprise. In unison, they stopped their play and looked at the toy as if it was a foreign object that landed from space right next to them.

And in those few moments, Katsuki emerged from his hiding spot and landed the net right on top of the frog. A shit eating grin appeared on his face as he watched the creature try to wiggle it's way out from it's temporary confinement. Even Ochako tried to escape her pen to help her friend but, before she could even make it out of the small fence, Katsuki pulled the net closer to him and swiftly squished the frog into the confounds of his fingers. "I got you now," he growled at the frog, matching his red eyes with black ones.

Tromping towards where the aquatic habitats resided and completely ignoring the protesting ribbits from the frog, he circled the glass casings until he came across a sign that curved out, " _Tsuyu - Green Frog"_. Correlating the two together, the opened top told Katsuki that's where she belonged. "Time to go in," he told the frog, though it made no movement when he started releasing his hold on her. Rather, Tsuyu clutched onto his hand and refused to move no matter how many times Katsuki tried to shake her off. She just wouldn't budge no matter the effort. "C'mon you stupid ass frog," he grumbled while making his movements heavier and getting frustrated at the lack of loosening from her end. "Fine, fucking fine! Have it your way then!" Katsuki screamed out while returning his previous grip on her before he punched into her case so she would be released by the waves of the water. Successfully, he saw her floating around the confounds of the water.

Unsuccessfully though, something that Katsuki always didn't pay attention to was the amount of force he put into instances like this. When he pushed her back in, while it did her get back in her home, it also made half of the water in her tank to explode outwards and completely soak him from head to toe. Blonde hair slapped onto the top of his forehead and irritation built up as he felt water droplets dripping down his chest. Without even hesitation or trying to dry himself off, he shut the lid of her tank and found a heavy object to place on top so she couldn't try to push it off again. Silently looking at his work, he gave Tsuyu one last death glare before walking away.

Ringing his shirt out from the intense dunk of water that the energetic frog put him through, Katsuki moved towards the counter where he protectively placed list, as if he foresaw the water hell he was going to be subjected to. After a slight whip of his hair that sent particles of clear liquid out, he grabbed onto the paper and looked at the next bullet point.

"Shouta - Make sure he's still alive"

Make sure he was still alive? What? Katsuki kept repeating that line over and over, trying to decipher its true meaning. Why would the pet shop owner even put that there? What kind of animal is this?

With worry, Katsuki scanned the shop from his position, trying to find anything odd or suspicious. Not counting the water damage certain areas covered, everything looked to be the same when he first came in so an eyebrow flew up in concern. With an alarm constantly going off in his head, Katsuki unlatched his feet from his stood position and looked around the shop for the mysterious animal that supposedly had no movement.

His first instinct was to look at all the cages and clear containers that could hold animals with seemingly little movement. Yet, much to his surprise and not surprise, all the animals within them were bouncing off the walls, begging to come out of their temporary homes. Even Tsuyu, the mystical frog with an elongated tongue, stuck herself towards the top, trying to push open the lid so she could taste the sweet air of freedom once more. With an eyebrow lifted, Katsuki kept walking throughout the shop, being careful on where he placed his feet in case a creature from below snagged on and pulled him into the depths of hell.

Suddenly, as he reached the back of the shop, he noticed a yellow sleeping bag off to corner that had a noticeable lump in the middle. Katsuki's face contorted into one of even more confusion with a pinch of exaggeration. Bending his upper body to get lower to the ground, he went over to the sleeping bag and pulled open the sleeve to see what was in there.

Sure enough was a hyena the size of a dog just calmly laying its body down on it's soft cushion area. His black mane was scraggly and knotted and it cascaded down the side of his dark fur neck that was covered with a gray like scarf that wrapped around in several loops. Little black spots scattered around his light brown exterior. Inside his mouth was an apple sauce squishy packet that had a little tube that one could suck from. Little slurps erupted from his snout and his black eyes looked straight on ahead, having no care in the world to actually get up from his position and interact with the world.

Katsuki's crimson eyes widened at this spectacle and disorientation was painted all over his face as he continued to watch this phenomena. Then his stare shifted to the hyena's rountund ear and he noticed a small tag dangling from it, like it was a piece of jewelry he wanted to have on. Carefully placing the tag within his hands, he could the engraving of "Shouta" scribbled across it in bold writing to make sure it was seen from even the worst of eyes.

Katsuki's pupils dilated inwards in shock, completely mystified by the situation. Once his consciousness regained within itself, he gingerly set it back down to its original position and grabbed a pen from his pocket to give a wary check mark next to his name.

Suddenly, out of thin air, a loud screeching rippled in the air, beating against the sound waves. Hands shot towards Katsuki's ears as trembles of the voice pierced into his ear. The pitch kept going higher and higher, only creating migrations within his mind.

Not even able to hear his own thoughts, he frantically ran through the shop, only stopping to look around for the source of this powerful voice. It turned into a game of hot and cold, with the hotter he was, the more his ears felt like bleeding. The animals surrounding Katsuki even went to different measures to cover their ears from the screeching.

At the highest tip of pitch is when Katsuki finally found the perpetrator. Inside an open styled bird cage was this cockatoo with glamorous shades that had a golden mohawk to match the rockstar persona he had going on. Looking at the sign, Katsuki found that his name was Hizashi and he genuinely wondered why the owner left him open like this. This was a clear case of disturbing the peace at full force. The cockatoo looked like he was jamming out to his own singing, though not understanding that everything about the music he was playing was utter shit.

Katsuki had to do something and quick.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Katsuki screamed back, hoping that would get the bird startled enough to stop this racking he was doing. It only made the jam worse.

Frustrated beyond belief, Katsuki ruffled through all the ideas that were cascading into his mind, though his mind couldn't focus on any of them due to the heavy caws Hizashi was emitting. At this point, all he wanted to do was to throw the bird outside to stop his fucking music-

Wait. Music. That was it.

Clearly, this was a musically inclined bird by the way he was composing himself, so, if Katsuki entertained that, maybe, just maybe, he could get the bird to shut up.

Leaving for a second, Katsuki found two big buckets and returned it back to the scene, flipping them over to use as makeshift drums. Hands beat against the plastic and created a rhythm that was catchy to listen to. At first, it didn't seem to be working until the cockatoo stopped barking for a moment to hear the beat that was being created. Katsuki switched up the tempo a bit and used different notes that grooved the bird. He bent his thin legs on the same notes that accompanied quick neck reaches. Screams were replaced with rocking vocals that aligned perfectly with the music he was creating.

Getting into the mood and making sure Hizashi didn't get distracted, Katsuki fluttered through all the songs he knew from memory that could resonate with this little bastard and chose a classic that he knew the drum part like the back of his hand. Changing up the bucket sounds once more, Katsuki transitioned smoothly into the song and the cockatoo shifted his dancing to match this new tune. Clearing his throat, he began to roughly sing, his voice having a gruff melody that sent trembles down spines. Unfortunately, he didn't have a saxophone buddy to join him in this but he managed to figure out how to get a similar effect with the use of his hands.

" _I feel so unsure  
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor  
As the music dies, something in your eyes  
Calls to mind the silver screen  
And all its sad good-byes_

 _I'm never gonna dance again  
Guilty feet have got no rhythm  
Though it's easy to pretend  
I know you're not a fool"_

It was immediately obvious that Hizashi knew this song as well from the chirps he sounded that gave this a classic vibe. Together, both him and a rocking bird were creating music and, if Katsuki wasn't so exhausted from all the other fuckers in this pet shop, he would have actually enjoyed doing this. It was different and certainly made him feel like a whack job but Hizashi made him escape all those thoughts for a moment while he entered into a void of music and songs.

Which is why he didn't hear the little chimes of bells from the manager entering the establishment and really didn't hear the footsteps coming closer. It took the clap of his hands for Katsuki to exit his trance and look up at him.

"Wow, Katsuki! That's so wonderful! I would have never thought to play live music for Hizashi! He normally just like the headphones but I think this made him really happy!" The manager happily stated, putting his hands into a prayer formation that was filled with happiness. He twisted his head around to see the other animals and his sweaty, bald head was filled with sparkles from the joy he had. "I see you also took care of the shop really well! Thank you so-" His words immediately were stopped by hands grabbing onto the collar of his buttoned shirt, pulling him closer to Katsuki.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Katsuki already started. His grip strengthened and shook the man in pure anger. The owner cupped his hands around the other's wrists but it only turned to be futile. Spit threw across the man's fearful face with each word Katsuki screamed out. "What the hell kind of pet shop is this!? What the living fuck!? These fuckers have been ABSOLUTELY DEMONIC AND EVIL AND I GENUINELY WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING FOUND THEM! At least have a fucking WARNING about these fuckers and their super fucking powers! I almost got killed MULTIPLE TIMES TODAY! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?" He shouted out, stopping his rant with heavy breaths tickling his captive's face.

At first, the manager didn't dare speak. Only whimpers could be heard quivering from his lips. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. Hands shaked against his wrists. Finally, he managed a gulp and reappeared a smile. "That was actually what I was trying to say before I had to go. These animals aren't exactly normal. They're a bit peculiar to say the least-"

"Try more spawns of Satan himself."

"Well, I guess if that's how you want to see it, sure, but that's definitely not the case. I'm not sure exactly where they came across them but I just remember one day seeing them all abandoned and I had to take them in. Sure they're a bit strange but they're the sweetest animals you'll ever come across," he assured, still displaying a smile for Katsuki. The grip loosened slightly and he managed to wiggle away from the heavy contact. "I know this is strange job, especially dealing with a lot of peculiar animals but I'm certain that you will learn about them rather quickly and what gets them calm and-"

"NO. FUCK THAT SHIT. YOU DEAL WITH THESE FUCKING BEASTS. I'M OUT," Katsuki roared out as he pushed past the manager to get his stuff. Grumbles of how ridiculous this place was and how he was going to beat his mother for this job and how he wanted to report this place to and from cursed from his lips.

"Oh, I also forgot to mention that the job is $25 an hour."

Now that got Katsuki frozen.

$25 an HOUR for this shithole!? That was even more than double the minimum wage within country lines. Most of his friends haven't seen anything more than a $20 and, while his parents were filthy rich, he also had to spend their money according to their rules and that frankly made Katsuki annoyed. But this….if he could get his own money and at an exponential rate, he wouldn't have to listen his mother's nags when he wants that cool new video game to come out and he could even purchase all the consoles and new equipment to his heart's content.

Sure, he would have to deal with shitty animals but it was only for a few hours and some weren't that bad to begin with. Plus, the manager would be here most of the time and he could take care of the ones that were evil.

With little money symbols in his pupils, Katsuki turned back towards the manager and gave an evil grin. "What do you want me to do next, _boss_?"


End file.
